Times Up!
by JessWho
Summary: Series 3 spoilers Keats tells Alex she can go home, but after seeing her friends for what they are, can she bare to destroy everything to get back to her daughter. Rated for character deaths Sorry
1. Shaz

A/N: This idea came to me randomly during the week as I was about to go to sleep and I had to scribble it down. Its sort of a theory really.

Each character will have their own chapter. Starting with Shaz.

Disclaimer: None of the character are mine, all of it belongs to their rightful owners. Helen and Harry are mine though....especially Helen as she's my mum :)

Set in Chelmsford (My home town) as Shaz is from Billercay.

* * *

The double doors swung open and Jim Keats stormed into CID, his coat tails flying out behind him. His footfalls echoed around the room before he came to a stop at Alex's desk, all her colleagues standing to attention as they watched on in fearful anticipation.  
"Times up, Alex. It's now or never. Home time"  
"Now?" she looked across the room to see Gene Hunt standing behind the closed door of his office, his expression unreadable.  
"You can only get home if you destroy him" Keats said with a menacing excitement that betraying his calm exterior.  
Alex turned to study the friends that made up her team, her eyes widened to saucers as she saw how they would be in the real world.

Sharon Granger dead on her feet. Her complexion the palest Alex had ever seen it, her eyes glazed over with pain. The young Police Constable made a gurgling sound, and a trickle of red left her parted lips.  
Alex watched in bewilderment as the white collar of Shaz's uniform turned the deepest of reds. Tears sprang to Alex's eyes as she realized what she was seeing happen to her friend. Shaz's life was flowing wantonly from her neck.

~:~

A girl, a knife, her best friend holding her. Stars.

~:~

"Wait up!" Shaz slurred, skipping to catch up with her friends. The heel of her shoe slipped on the wet, yellow bricked pavement of the high street as she moved around a collection of people. She let out a squeak of surprise and grabbed a hold of the nearest object to steady herself, which happened to be someone's arm.  
"Careful, sweetheart," the 'object' chuckled, "we havn't even been introduced"  
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Shaz apologized quickly. Looking up into dark brown eyes Shaz found herself blushing. She turned to see her friends waiting for her, "sorry I have to go"  
"I don't even know your name" he said in a deep voice.  
"It's Shaz" she smiled.  
"And who's this?" a girl appeared from behind the 'object', "You trying it on with my man?"  
"No, no, I slipped and-"  
"What and fell into his arms? Do I look stupid?" the blonde hair girl flared up in anger, and coursed forward intimidating.  
"No, I slipped and he was the near-"  
"So what he helped you? I bet you just jumped at the chance to get your claws in" she said pushing Shaz.  
"I didn't, honest," she answered, looking over to see her friends coming back for her, "I have to go" Shaz started to walk away as the girl shouted after her.  
"Oi, I'm talking to you, don't you walk away from me" the girl grabbed a handful of Shaz's jacket and pulled her round to face her. Shaz saw something silver shining in the girls hand, before she was released, the whole group gasping and stepping away from her.  
The girl and the 'object' stood staring at her, "What? What is..." to her own ears her voice sound weak and broken. Shaz looked down at herself at the feeling of warmth spreading out across her collar bone and chest. For a second she watched the shine of blood sliding across her pale skin, then the sharpest of pains hit her "You, you stabbed me. I've been stabbed!" she stared around her with wide eyes filled with fear.  
Suddenly everyone was rushing away from her, and she was lying on the cold, wet ground. Shaz blinked slowly. Shaz's friend Helen dropped to her knees, "Get away from her! Shaz? What have you done?" she looked up at the girl holding the knife accusingly, "Oh god, Shaz," Helen put her hands to her friends neck, her fingers slipping in the wet blood as she found the wound and pressed down on it in a vain attempt to stop Shaz's life blood from pumping out.  
"Helen?" her voice barely above a whisper.  
"Yeah it's me. Harry call an ambulance" she shouted her eyes never leaving the sight of blood seeping through her fingers.  
"Tell my mum-" Shaz was interrupted by a cough, a bubble of blood spraying from her mouth and rolling down her chin, "Tell her I love her"  
"No Shaz, stay with me, Shaz!" Helen urged her on, "Don't go," she sobbed, "Please Shaz, best friends forever, remember?"  
Shaz looked past her friend, her own face dry of tears as she looked up at the night sky, "Look at all those stars"

* * *

I hope you like it as I didn't take much pleasure in writing the characters death.


	2. Ray

Disclaimer: I don't own the show.

A/N: As both my Grandad's are called Raymund, I though I would name Ray wife after my Nan Christine, because he is just like Raymundo :) Plus its my middle name...Christine that is, not Ray that would be odd to say the least.

I was going to do Chris, Gene and a final chapter, but I'm finding this difficult to write. I feel like I'm killing the character and its effecting the way I write it.

* * *

The surface of Ray's face was shiny like wax, Alex swayed as she watched the flesh bubble and distort his features. If she had not seen these horrific changes before her eyes she would not have recognised the melted man he had become. With shame she felt bile rise at the back of her throat, this 'figure' did not look like the Ray she knew.  
Fat salty tears fell down her cheeks as she wished the sight away, begged for it to be wiped from her mind. A curl of smoke left the blistered orifice that was once a mouth and then it was happening before her eyes.

~:~

A home, flames, his family trapped inside. His family.

~:~

Ray was stopped at a police barricade, flashing his warrant card to a young PC as he watched the dark smoke reaching higher into the sky, "What house number is it?" he asked ignoring the feeling of unease as he tried to settle into his 'on-the-job' mind.  
"20, sir," he answered, "Sir?"  
"Oh god no!" Ray gasped in a breath, ducking under the tape and running towards the fire crew, "Is there anyone still in there?"  
He looked up at the sound of screaming, seeing nothing but blackness through the bedroom window, "Christine, Chrissie? She's still in there with the baby?" he asked without waiting for a reply as he heard the blood curdling scream of his frightened wife and forced his way past police and fireman.  
"You can't go in there!" was the last voice Ray ever heard as he kicked the door in and disappeared into the fog.

With a frantic urgency Ray had never before felt, he made his way up the stairs. He stayed close to the wall as each step creaked under his weight. Ray took a deep breath to call out to Christine, but carbon dioxide filled his lungs, destroying the name with a harsh cough. Pressing his mouth into the collar in a vain attempt to filter some of the smoke and ash from every breath he stepped onto the landing. As he stepped forward the floor groaned and gave way, plaster and floor boards fueling the raging fire bellow.  
He shouted over the roar of flames, "Chrissie," hearing nothing in return, he felt his throat close in panic. The foot of the stairs was buring away, an orange glow licking its way up the banisher and in front of him the carpet trailing into the abyss below had ignited. He was trapped, he'd failied. Dark curls of smoke, heavily scented with melting carpet and the toxic bubbling of wood varnish were strangling his every breath.  
His knee weaken, his wife silent, he crashed down onto his knees, feeling the floor boards shift beneath him.  
What was the point.

* * *

Written before the episode aired, but fiddled around with so it would work with it.


End file.
